Richard on the other hand was not finding it so easy to fall asleep again, though the light was on. He lay in his bed with his eyes transfixed on the top bunk, expecting some kind of disturbance above his head. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t turn his sights away from the top bunk. If there was truly something on the top bunk it would be back and he wanted to be ready for it.
His mother kept telling him they were only dreams and couldn’t hurt him. To him it felt like whatever these things were, they were trying their best to get to him. He lay in bed and listened to the sounds of the night, but there were none.
He just had to keep his mind occupied. He could think about school work. School work? Who would want to lie in bed and think about school work? No, wait. He could think about his hero John Cena. What would John Cena do if he was there? John could show him how to wrestle, or how to perfect the infamous headlock he had seen so many times on WWE.
If John Cena was there, where would he sleep? He kept the top bunk for when his friends slept over, but wouldn’t John Cena break the top bunk and crush him? If John Cena were there he guess John would have to sleep on the lower bunk.
Richard heard one of the floorboards in the hallway squeak. He glanced at the dark hallway beyond his door and waited for his mom to come into the room. A moment passed, but she didn’t come. Richard wondered whether he was imagining things or whether there was something else out in the hallway.
“Mom?” He whispered.
There was no reply. If John Cena was there, he would keep him safe.
“Mom?’ Richard whispered again.
There was no reply. Richard kept staring at the door, hoping to see his mother enter. He heard another floorboard creak and then all was quiet again. The hallway floorboards only creaked if you stepped on them. The two creaks followed by complete silence meant that someone was standing outside his bedroom door. There was another creaking floorboard and then silence again.
Richard’s heart started racing and he cowered up against the wall for protection. Though the room was brightly lit, he felt utterly alone as if he was surrounded by the nothingness of the dark.
One, he counted again.
He watched as the door slowly inched open.
Two…
The door groaned as it slowly swung opened another inch.
Three…
It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real.
Four…
Richard gasped and a cold shiver ran down his entire body as a pale and skinny hand reached around the corner from the dark hallway. He watched in horror as the hand slid along the wall towards the light switch. The brittle skin that covered the hand blistered upon contact with the light, but the hand didn’t flinch as its long and bony fingers slithered towards the light switch.
Richard stared in terror unable to scream for help. He watched as the blisters on the hand burst open and goo splattered onto the wall. The hand reached the light switch.
Frozen in terror, Richard gasped for air as one of the bony fingers flipped the switch and the bedroom disappeared into the darkness.
3
Patti woke up to the terror-filled scream that echoed through the house. It was the most horrid scream she’d ever heard. She knew the sound of Richard’s night-terror screams, but this was something different. She leaped out of bed and rushed next door to Richard’s bedroom. She switched on the light. Richard was not in his bed; the covers were tossed back and the room was empty.
“Richard?” Patti called out.
She fell down onto her knees next to his bed and glanced underneath it. He wasn’t hiding there.
“Richard?” Patti called out concerned, “Where are you?”
She got up and opened the closet, hoping to find him quivering inside, but it was empty. She was growing worried. She stood in the middle of his room and glanced at her surroundings. Where could he be? He had never hidden from his night terrors before. She would usually find him quivering in bed hugging his covers. As she glanced around the room, she spotted some sticky fluid on the light switch. She stepped closer to investigate and noticed that she had some of it on her finger from when she turned on the light. She brought her finger to her nose and then smelled it. The smell was peculiar and the substance was sticky, yet smooth. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. She was growing restless.
Patti finally cried out, “RICHARD!”
4
The police responded relatively fast to Patti’s distress call. Normally one could order a pizza and have it delivered before the police showed up. Two officers came out; one was taking her statement in the kitchen while the other one was going through the house looking for clues.
Detective Smith was in his late fifties and nearing his retirement so he had seen it all – from murders to kidnappings. His partner was a rookie detective called Dave Allen and specialized in crime scene analysis, thus he was the one who was going from room to room looking for anything out of the ordinary.
Smith sat next to Patti at the kitchen table and jotted down information onto a little note pad as he interviewed her. Her eyes were burning from exhaustion and she could hardly stay awake, let alone concentrate on the questions she was being asked.
“Did you make sure the doors were locked?” Smith asked.
“Yes.” Patti replied a bit annoyed, “I am a very vigilant person. I make sure the house is locked at least three times throughout the night before I go to sleep. I checked the front and back door and Richard’s windows before I put him to bed.”
“Is there anyone who might have a grudge against you?” Smith asked.
“Not that I know of.” Patti replied.
Dave Allen entered the kitchen. It was evident from his facial expression that he was clueless as to where the boy might have disappeared to.
“There are no visible signs of forced entry.” Dave Allen said.
“What does that mean?” Patti asked concerned.
She could tell from their facial expressions their investigation had hit a wall.
“It means,” Smith said, “That whoever took your child knew him and most probably had a key.”
“What?” Patti gasped, “I don’t understand.”
“Where is the child’s father?” Smith asked.
“Dead for all I know.” Patti replied, “He left in the middle of the night almost four years ago without a goodbye.”
“Maybe he returned for his son?” Smith asked.
“I doubt it.” Patti said, “He never wanted a child. You clearly don’t know Mitch. He wanted to take his band on the road and I was just holding him back from living his dream.”
There was a swift knock at the back door and then Patti’s sister, Ruth rushed in. She was a bit older than Patti and has always been more of a mother figure to Patti than a sister.
“I came as soon as I got your message!” Ruth gasped.
Patti got up and embraced Ruth. The two police officers seemed a bit cautious as someone new entered the picture.
“Who is this?” Smith asked.
“I’m her sister.” Ruth replied.
“Thank you for coming.” Patti said to Ruth.
“Of course I would come to your aid.” Ruth said.
Ruth turned to the two detectives.
“Do we know anything yet?” Ruth asked.
“They don’t think he was taken by a stranger.” Patti said.
“But who then?” Ruth asked baffled, “Do you think it was Mitch?”
“Doubt it.” Patti said, “Why does everyone suddenly think that he had something to do with this? I haven’t heard from him in years.”
Ruth could see Patti was trying to fight back the tears. The events of the evening were getting too much for Patti to handle. Ruth reached into her purse.
“You need to get some sleep.” Ruth said.
Ruth handed Patti some sleeping tablets.
“Take these.” Ruth insisted, “Go lie down and I will sort out the rest. I will make missing posters and call every
one we know.”
Patti nodded and walked over to the sink for a glass of water.
“We have to get back to the station.” Smith said.
Smith stood up and put away his notepad.
“We will keep you informed about every aspect of our investigation.” Smith said.
“Thank you detectives.” Patti said.
While Patti took the tablets, her sister showed the detectives to the door. Once the detectives were gone, Ruth returned to the kitchen. She still had her purse on her and put it down on the kitchen counter.
“Come.” Ruth said, “Let’s get you into bed. You need to rest.”
Ruth walked with Patti to the hallway and into the main bedroom. Patti lay down on the bed and Ruth sat down next to her on the edge of the bed.
“We will find him.” Ruth said reassuringly.
“He’s all I have.” Patti said.
While Patti rested in the main bedroom, Ruth was in the kitchen calling up everyone they knew or that knew Richard. He wasn’t the kind of boy that would run away from home, but maybe – just maybe someone might have seen him. She started dialling everyone on the school emergency tree (which was almost like a family tree, but for emergencies and had contact details for every parent in Richard’s class) and then started calling up friends and neighbours.
“Hello.” Ruth said into the phone, “Samantha, sorry to bother you so late at night. My sister’s son is missing…. yes…. thank you… will you keep an eye out just in case he comes over to your son? I’d appreciate it…”
She disconnected the call. Samantha was the last person. She had dialled over 30 people – all of whom haven’t seen Richard that evening. She herself was getting restless